Francis was a poet of the ring

So taken was I with the Spartan ethic of the boxing school he ran from an open air public changing room at Highgate Ponds that I joined them.

For most of the next 15 years I rose with the dawn to run for miles over Hampstead Heath before working out with the boxers. It was a strange regime

SPURS manager Glenn Hoddle is hoping some of his injured stars will declare themselves fit for Saturday's final London derby of the season against West Ham.

Gary Doherty, Stephen Clemence, Oyvind Leonhardsen and Chris Armstrong are all expected to play for the reserves against Fulham tomorrow as part of their rehabilitation process.

However, Doherty, who hasn't played for the first team since breaking his leg in a Worthington Cup tie against Torquay earlier this season, is still a few games away from a recall.

Hoddle said: "Gary needs more match practice. He's fit but not match fit. He's had three reserve games but he's way off the tempo at top level at the moment."

Tottenham's injury problems increased during their defeat by Arsenal at the weekend. Defender Ledley King was forced off for a Fleet Street reporter but I loved it and it helped to keep some of the ravages of the job at bay.

George would always join his boys on these runs, although he was already in his late 40s. We finished by diving naked into the ponds, even if it meant breaking the ice, which on occasions was nearly a foot thick.

I remember the long build-up to the fight for the world lightheavyweight title against Argentine Jorge Ahumada in

1974. I couldn't help much with the fight but by God I could run and my self-appointed task was to push Conteh hard on those early morning runs.

Like many superbly talented athletes, he was occasionally lazy in training and could outrun the other boxers without effort. But he couldn't outrun me and I like to think that pushing him as I did contributed to the fitness that brought victory.

George's greatest night would have been in Las Vegas had Bruno knocked out Tyson at half-time with an achilles injury while Steffen Iversen lasted only seven minutes into the second half after sustaining a dead leg.

Hoddle added: "At least we haven't got a midweek game and we can make sure we try to get some out of the treatment room if we can."

Meanwhile, skipper Teddy Sheringham insists the club's season is far from over. Sheringham has set his sights on seventh spot in the Premiership, a potential UEFA Cup slot, and is well aware of the importance of their clash against the Hammers.

West Ham have moved ahead of Spurs in the table and Sheringham wants to redress the balance. He said: "We're still hoping we can get to seventh and that's what

but unfortunately it didn't quite happen.

George had detected a weakness in Tyson. Because he's so short for a heavyweight, if a taller opponent like Bruno leans back on the ropes, Tyson has to attack with his head down, chin tucked into his chest, to avoid the uppercut, while he pounds away at the body. But eventually he has to step back.

George noticed that, just occasionally as he tired, Tyson took only half a step back before lifting his head and exposing his chin. This meant he was in range of the uppercut.

If Bruno could have capitalised on this moment he could possibly have achieved the impossible and floored Iron Mike for the count.

"I practised and practised that move with him," George told me. "We must have done it a thousand times, maybe more. Lure him into the neutral corner, slide away down the ropes to the left so you draw Tyson over the right hand, lay

back on the ropes and let him hit you. Then the moment he takes that half step back and lifts his head, you come off the ropes fast, uppercut and it's all over."

It was a great plan and when George and the defeated Frank arrived home, I asked what went wrong.

"Well, Tyson did it only once in the entire fight," George explained.

"Yes, but why didn't Frank hit him?"

"He forgot," George said, glumly.

Of course, Frank did become a world champion under George's tutelage, as did John Mugabi and Cornelius Boza-Edwards.

George was born into a working class East End family and began work at 14 as a market porter.

He was devoted to his wife Joan, who died of cancer two years ago and his son Simon, who died of cancer a year later. His death by his own hand at the age of 73 was a sad one for a man so full of life.